Maus I

Without a doubt, my favorite book to date in this class has been Art Spiegelman's "Maus I". What I found particularly compelling was the amount of symbolism and where we find it in his drawings. I'm not just talking about the "cat and mouse" theme, which was certainly brilliant, but at the more subtle hints within the book.
The fact that the Polish were represented as pigs and therefore our Jewish characters and others like them were depicted literally putting on pig masks when they were pretending to blend in as Polish citizens. To see the strings at the back of a characters head showed us somethig that the picture might not otherwise have been able to show us; how else might someone portray a Jew in hiding?
On page 80 I found a particularly moving picture. Vladek is frightened and unsure of how to escape the soldiers. He considers what will happen if he moves away slowly and if he moves away quickly. In the picture he is surrounded by the Star of David, and it symbolizes how consumed he is with his identity. He feels like his creed is being broadcast for all to see and that it is blatantly obvious to everyone.
My favorite drawing is on page 125 when Anja and Vladek are looking for a new place to go. They come to a crossroads and the roads are in the shape of a swastika. To me, it says that no matter where they go, they will only find more of the same, that all roads hold the same story, and who TRULY controls those paths.
I think that by making the characters these animals, Art Spiegelman made a very harsh story easier to read for the more "faint of heart" audience, like myself. This story; this message... They are important to pass along to new generations, and this format does so brilliantly.